Abstract

The quote in the title to this article reflects legal and social attitudes towards fatherhood. Fathers are generally perceived to be inherently deficient in parenting skills. For example South African law does not recognise the biological relationship between an unwed father and his natural child as giving rise to parental authority over the child or to an inherent right of access. The unwed father has to approach the court and demonstrate on a balance of probabilities that access would be in the child's best interests. The problems inherent in denying unwed fathers parenting rights were brought to the fore in Fraser v Naude.